Referencing Item Values

You can reference item values stored in session state in regions, computations, processes, validation, and branches. Table: Syntax for Referencing Item Values describes the supported syntax for referencing item values.

See Also:

"Managing Session State Values"

Syntax for Referencing Item Values

Type	Syntax	Description
SQL	`:MY_ITEM`	Standard bind variable syntax for items whose names are no longer than 30 bytes. Use this syntax for references within a SQL query and within PL/SQL code.
PL/SQL	`V('MY_ITEM')`	PL/SQL syntax referencing the item value using the `V` function. Use this syntax in PL/SQL code of packages or stored procedures and functions. Avoid this syntax in SQL statements. It may result in performance problems. See Also: Oracle Application Express API Reference
PL/SQL	`NV('MY_NUMERIC_ITEM')`	Standard PL/SQL syntax referencing the numeric item value using the `NV` function. Use this syntax in PL/SQL code of packages or stored procedures and functions. Avoid this syntax in SQL statements.It may result in performance problems. See Also: Oracle Application Express API Reference
Static Text (exact)	`&MY_ITEM.`	Static text. Exact Substitution. Note: Exact substitution syntax should be avoided in SQL or PL/SQL code because it can result in SQL Injection vulnerabilities.

You can set the value of an item in your application using any of the following methods:

For page-level items, use the Source Attribute to set the item value.

From the Page Definition, select the item name to view the Edit Page Item page. Scroll down to Source and edit the appropriate fields.

You can also set the value of an item in any region based on PL/SQL or a process using the following syntax:
```
BEGIN
 :MY_ITEM :=  'new value';
END;
```
Pass the value on a URL reference using f?p syntax. For example:
```
f?p=100:101:10636547268728380919::NO::MY_ITEM:ABC
```
Set the value using a computation. Computations are designed to set item values. For example:
```
TO_CHAR(SYSDATE,'Day DD Month, YYYY');
```
Use the PL/SQL API to set an item value within a PL/SQL context. For example:
```
APEX_UTIL.SET_SESSION_STATE('MY_ITEM',SYSDATE);
```